Subarda Minang Solok
West Sumatra is home to some of Indonesia’s most dedicated coffee producers. Our focus recently turned to the Solok region, a hidden enclave around Danau Bekembar. Shielded from urban sprawl, Solok preserves its local culture and traditions and shapes a coffee with character and depth that reflects its origin.
When sourcing coffee from Solok, we focused on a single producer to support sustainable and high quality coffee. This led us to Yani from Subarda Minang Solok, both a coffee producer and processor. We met him in 2021 when he was mainly processing commercial coffee. Over time we committed to buying a set amount of his coffee to keep him motivated to improve. The breakthrough came with the Protokol series, which quickly elevated his coffee quality and gave him wider recognition locally and internationally.
Yani owns a small plot across the lake and another behind his processing station. Production volume remains modest and he still buys beans to fill larger batches. Our Protokol series showcases these bigger batch coffees, capturing the essence of Solok. Through Protokol we explored countless experimental processes with Yani’s guidance. Techniques like 300-hour submerged, hybrid anaerobic, or deep washed fermentations achieved notable success, producing vibrant flavors of sparkling berries and sweet tropical fruits like durian that instantly draw the attention of coffee enthusiasts.
After five years of collaboration, we are fortunate to have a coffee producer as a partner who embodies our spirit and values as a specialty coffee brand. This year we continue to empower the supply chain by producing the Protokol series, bridging the gap between consumer and producer. Subarda Minang Solok stands as a reminder of how the connection between micro and small scale coffee producers can create a meaningful impact on people’s lives.
